Saturday, March 4, 2017

Yet another story on the patient centred care we do not have and the transformation of the system that is in chaos -especially the mental health system. But of course we still have to keep speaking out because silence is the reason this junk has gone on for far too long.

Julie Ali ·University of AlbertaIf you are lucky you have a psychiatrist with hospital privileges who might be able to get you in.If you are unlucky you just don't have much luck.It's a matter of who has some way in and most of the folks don't know how to get help.I can tell you how to get help.Write publicly about the problem.Go to media.Ask for help everywhere.And make sure that the politicians are getting the message.The only way to get help is to become an "emerging issue" for the government of Alberta.That is the only way folks.Sad but true.

Yet another story on the patient centred care we do not have and the transformation of the system that is in chaos -especially the mental health system. But of course we still have to keep speaking out because silence is the reason this junk has gone on for far too long.

‘Once you put on that blue hospital gown, you become a file’: The pressing need to empower patients

Judith John was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour almost two decades ago. Before one of many MRI appointments, she was sitting in a room waiting for her name to be called — but it didn’t happen.

Instead, a technician stepped through the door, looked down at her sheet and read out, “Brain tumour?”

It was an accumulation of experiences like this that transformed John into what she calls an “accidental patient advocate.”

“That moment in the waiting room was a symptom of a system that doesn’t look up and take you in,” says John, who worked in communications at several Toronto hospitals before she got sick.

“Once you put on that blue hospital gown, you become a file, a bunch of symptoms. I just wanted to be treated like a person.”

Patient empowerment is important, John says, because illness is universal and there isn’t one person who won’t be affected eventually, whether they find themselves needing to advocate for themselves, or for a family member.

Thanks to the advocates who came before her, many Canadian hospitals now have patient advisory committees — John is on one for the University Health Network in Toronto. She says the first step is acknowledging patients (when doctors ask what they can do, she recommends they start by making eye contact with the people in their care). After that comes asking patients what it is they want from the health-care system – and acting on it.

John says there is still a long way to go before patients are really in a position to make meaningful change. On hospital walls across the country are signs proclaiming the facilities’ patient-centred approach, but she says no one really understands what that means. “Hospitals are dominated by process, so for them it’s about getting as many people in and through as fast as possible, as opposed to giving people the confidence to ask questions and be involved in decision-making.”

Fred Dufor / AFP / Getty ImagesA file picture taken on July 22, 2013 shows a nurse holding the hand of an elderly patient in a palliative care unit

Francesca Grosso, an expert in health policy and co-author of Navigating Canada’s Health Care: A User Guide to Getting the Care You Need, says those patient-centred signs are little more than rhetoric. Still, she’s optimistic. “So many movements start with rhetoric, so maybe someday they’ll be replaced by reality.”

The problem, she says, is that the health-care system was never designed around patients in the first place. Because they’re given so little choice in the decisions made around their care, they don’t see themselves as consumers, and they should. Grosso would like to see the government adopt a department of patient experience made up of people who understand policy and have no competing interests.

“We’re living longer and we don’t have a system that can provide complete support,” she says. “The aging population has made advocacy a big deal – and it’s essential because we’re the ones who are the experts in our clinical journeys.”

Over the past year, Dr. Granger Avery, president of the Canadian Medical Association, travelled across the country, listening to patient stories. “The societal voice is an essential piece in the design of our health-care system,” he says. “It’s owned by the people, which means they need to be recognized and have input on how it should best meet their needs.”

The potential for digital health to not only help patients become empowered, but also to transform the health care system as a whole

Unfortunately, Avery says, advocacy has been fundamentally undervalued. “We talk about it being a patient-centred system, but it’s far from that. Don’t get me wrong, doctors and nurses are doing their best, but the issue is with the organization of the system itself and how things are done, or not done.”

Part of the CMA’s current focus is on supporting seniors and making improvements to home and palliative care, as well as providing support to informal caregivers (there is currently a proposal in place to reimburse them). But to address some of the biggest challenges facing Canada’s health-care system – gaps in care that occur across the country and within hospitals themselves – Avery says the public needs to be involved in the design and management of the system overall. “Without that, we will continue to miss the mark.”

Cathy Fooks, president of the Change Foundation and former executive director of the Health Council of Canada, says that until five years ago, not much was happening on the patient empowerment front – and there is still some reluctance to embrace it. “Organizations that aren’t yet open to the idea are worried it will involve finger pointing,” she says. “But people are motivated beyond that. They’re engaged to make the experience better for others and they take a more constructive view.”

Getty ImagesA file photo of an empty hospital bed

What progress has been made so far has occurred most notably in hospitals. In addition to advisory councils, patients are on hiring committees and becoming increasingly involved with staff training and orientation, Fooks says. “They’re more embedded in the organizations themselves. Now we just need to drive that out into primary and community care – that’s the next frontier.”

Another issue is providing support – of any kind – to family caregivers. Fooks cared for both of her parents and was overwhelmed by the lack of communication and confusing array of services that didn’t share information. “I thought, ‘this is really chaotic. I’ve worked in healthcare for over 30 years and I speak English and I’m having a hard time – what on earth do other people do?’”

Fooks says it shouldn’t be up to doctors and nurses to navigate outside services when patients are sent home, but it does need to be somebody’s job. “Every situation needs to be looked at individually; so what will work for this patient in this situation as opposed to a blanket ‘everybody gets x.’ Not every parent wants their child helping them in and out of the bath.”

In Ontario alone, 3.3 million people are unpaid caregivers. “These people are lost in a maze with no compass,” says Lisa Levin, chair of the Ontario Caregiver Coalition. “There are so many agencies and services, no one knows who offers what. There should be clear ‘doorway’ to service where patients and caregivers can go to get questions answered.”

If people aren’t aware of the services available, whether it’s supportive housing, volunteer visitors or community transportation, they may be forced to move out of their homes and into nursing homes, Levin says. The health-care system simply isn’t equipped to provide round-the-clock care for all the people who need it. “Unpaid care givers are the invisible backbone of our health-care system – and they’re burning out. They need more recognition and respite, as well as some financial support.”

These people are lost in a maze with no compass

To make the entire process easier, Fooks says it helps to find out how things work while you’re still healthy. “You should know what you’re entitled to, as well as what to ask for when the time comes – people assume they’ll be told and it doesn’t always happen.” It didn’t happen for Annette McKinnon, who suffered joint damage after her rheumatoid arthritis went undiagnosed more than 30 years ago. When she had difficulty getting the help she needed, she felt betrayed by the system.

“Initially, I didn’t think there was anything I could do to change things for the better,” says the former market researcher from Toronto. But before long she became an advocate for early diagnosis and treatment, as well as better access to drugs. She was recently an ePatient Scholar at Stanford’s MedicineX Conference and is on the patient advisory board for the Arthritis Research Center. “You have to sort of stretch yourself,” she says. “You start out as a patient who isn’t involved at all, then suddenly you’re co-authoring research papers.”

McKinnon says it’s getting easier for patients to get involved, you just need to believe you can make a difference. Anybody can volunteer to be a member of a regulatory council, she says. Even more important is participating in research. “What patients and researchers think are important outcomes for studies is often completely different,” she says. “Patients can help ensure the questions being asked are more relatable. We’re the biggest stakeholders so we should have a voice when these decisions are made.”

FotoliaAn operating room in a hospital

McKinnon is currently involved in a trial program that gives her online access to her medical records. “I can read my doctor’s notes from home and see my latest test results – his own resident can’t do that,” she says.

Shelagh Maloney, vice president of consumer health, communications and evaluation services of Canada Health Infoway says giving patients access to digital tools to help them manage their health provides new models of care that are more affordable, especially in an antiquated system where fax machines are still the gold standard of communication between providers.

According to the 2016 Connecting Patients for Better Health survey commissioned by Infoway, 89 per cent of Canadians want access to digital health services such as e-booking, online prescription renewal, online access to medical records and e-visits with care providers, but only 20 per cent actually have it.

“What stands out for me is the extent to which engaged patients report how much better they’re able to manage their health with digital solutions,” Maloney says. More than 70 per cent felt online access improved their knowledge of their health and led to more informed discussions with their doctors. They also felt more confident in the care they received. “It just demonstrates the potential for digital health to not only help patients become empowered, but also to transform the health care system as a whole.”

While patient centred care is being touted all over the nation the reality for our most disadvantaged citizens is quite different. The mentally ill citizen for example is at risk of not getting services or supports as well as being denied required access to mental health services.

In addition, we have advocates being subject to information restriction, lack of access to essential data in a timely fashion, retribution which includes banning, eviction of family members they are advocating for in the continuing care system in Alberta to even lawsuits. Why is there so much fear in the system about citizen access to their information? I guess this happens because the system is not willing to acknowledge adverse events, do anything productive when adverse events occur other than move families forwards and finally there is the cover up conducted by all concerned to ensure that no one knows of system wide failures in care of citizens.

This sort of junk frankly needs to end. In Alberta we have had decades of silencing families to maintain a fiction of good care that may at times be not true. It's time to accept that adverse events and fatalities occur and that these events should be addressed respectfully by the system. Failure to recognize adverse events results in them repeating and the learnings from such events do not get incorporated into best practices. Advocates and patients/residents in the health care /continuing care system are not going to accept silencing. We are sharing our stories so that we get the care that is required for disabled and mentally ill family members who can be seen as failing to accept required treatment when the reality is that there are no supports/accommodations made to support compliance. What we have is a system simply moving problems along from here to there and avoiding the real work of transformation.

Your silence with reference to these adverse events will not save your family members. Only your stories said to the world will ensure that the system is changed by families to meet the needs of vulnerable defenceless citizens. The time for change is now. Finally, if change does not happen by dialogue, political action and good citizenship -change will come through the legal system as this family is having to do:

The family alleges that Peterson, who is diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder, had twice tried to commit herself to the Royal Alexandra Hospital’s psychiatric unit for her own personal safety and she was denied admittance, provided with cab fare and told to go home.

According to the statement of claim, Peterson posed a clear and imminent threat to herself on Feb. 22, 2014, and her daughter and a friend took her to Alberta Hospital.

The family alleges Peterson clearly presented as suicidal and likely non-compliant with her medications and the admitting nurse assured them that she would be assessed.

However, instead of assessing or admitting Peterson, the family alleges that the hospital turned her away and called her a cab.

According to the statement of claim, Peterson checked herself in at the downtown Chateau Lacombe and jumped to her death from the seventh floor on Feb. 23, 2014.

A mentally ill Edmonton woman’s family is claiming she jumped to her death from the seventh floor of the Chateau Lacombe after being turned away at Alberta Hospital.

And the family says in a recent $753,000 lawsuit against the province that it was the third time she was refused admittance at a psychiatric facility — despite her clear need for treatment — and sent away in a taxi.

In a statement of claim filed in court on Feb. 19, the daughter, parents and brother of Janette Peterson allege she was a diagnosed psychiatric patient who had been hospitalized for suicidal tendencies a number of times.

The family claims she took “definite and extreme steps” to attempt suicide in February 2014 — including renting a hotel room and hiring strangers to harm her — and say that and all of her treatment records were fully available on the net care system for medical professionals to review.

The family alleges that Peterson, who is diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder, had twice tried to commit herself to the Royal Alexandra Hospital’s psychiatric unit for her own personal safety and she was denied admittance, provided with cab fare and told to go home.

According to the statement of claim, Peterson posed a clear and imminent threat to herself on Feb. 22, 2014, and her daughter and a friend took her to Alberta Hospital.

The family alleges Peterson clearly presented as suicidal and likely non-compliant with her medications and the admitting nurse assured them that she would be assessed.

However, instead of assessing or admitting Peterson, the family alleges that the hospital turned her away and called her a cab.

According to the statement of claim, Peterson checked herself in at the downtown Chateau Lacombe and jumped to her death from the seventh floor on Feb. 23, 2014.

The family alleges the death was the result of negligence by the doctors and staff at the two hospitals for failing to admit her, failing to properly monitor her and for failing to notify the family that she had been denied admission.

They claim the defendants, which include Alberta Health Services, Alberta Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital, the admitting nurse and several doctors and staff members, have a duty to both Peterson and the general public to admit those who are suffering from mental disorders and are likely to cause harm to themselves or others.

The statement of claim also alleges that the defendants have a duty to ensure that “bed pressure” does not result in patients in demonstrable need being turned away.

Statements of defence have not yet been filed.

Statements of claim and statements of defence contain allegations which have not been proven.

Unfortunately the mentally ill have no voice in our society. Family members get burnt out and when there is no one advocating, the mentally ill patient can fall through the cracks in the mental health system which are very big.

If you are mentally ill you don't have insight and might also refuse treatment. The role of an advocate is therefore essential. When family are not present it is the responsibility of medical staff to advocate and work in the best interests of a patient who has no insight.

When the system fails, the mentally ill patient will have no one and incidents like this happen.

Or you have cases where the system gets fed up and puts a "Do not resuscitate" Order on the patient. This happened to my handicapped sister.

This sort of system wide failures with overburdened family taking care of mentally ill family members, a mental health system that lacks psychiatrists and failures to provide complex care plans for these patients results in tragic consequences that are fully preventable if resources, money and trained staff were allocated. It's curious to me that the death by doctor business in Alberta was provided with extra staff but mental health services don't seem to get a similar increase in funding.

In my opinion, there is no damn reason for any of this junk. The GOA needs to see mental health as health --in other words as a service that must be provided. If you can provide chemotherapy for cancer you can provide mental health beds and treatment for mental health issues of citizens.

The only reason why mental health is not a priority in Alberta is because of stigma, powerlessness of the afflicted and indifference. The mentally ill are discriminated against, can't speak for themselves and families are too burnt out or afraid to speak for them.

Families need to do their best to speak publicly about the stress of caring for mentally ill family members, the problems in accessing psychiatric services, the lack of mental health beds and system wide failures to provide required services.

This family is being very courageous and I applaud them for doing the lawsuit. It's unlikely to change the entrenched system of health bureaucrats at Alberta Health and AHS but at least this family is giving a voice to their harmed family member.

Having had a friend with serious depression issues and suicide incidents - it became clear with the hospitals that if you were deemed not a threat to others - then you were released because there was such a huge demand for the bed and resources you were taking up. On a side note - criticizing the family is very low class guys - until you have personally dealt with some who is suicidal - you have no idea how difficult and messed up it is to be the people dealing with them. I always though suicide was an excuse until I had someone that I cared about struggling with it.

Chris Blair, I'm sorry, but where is Darren Thompson's "snide assumptions" in his comment? Criticising the family is in bad form....many families have tried to help and get help for their family member or friend, its not their fault that the psychiatric care centres sometimes let people fall through the cracks. The onus is on the health care professional to provide this help...if hospitals are turning people away when they are obviously unwell...whether with family present or not....that is a huge problem and should not be happening.

Jacquie Dziwenko Thank you. Famlies with mentally ill family members beg for help. One doctor at the Grey Nuns hospital indicated that there were no beds in the inn. What the heck? She told our family to call the MLAs.If you have a critically ill patient with a heart attack they make room for you at the hospital. But if you have a mentally ill patient you are disposable. The doctors at the Grey Nuns Hospital were writing -Do not resuscitate on my sister's files for years. Why? I guess she was not of value. They would never try this junk on a "normal" citizen but for the disabled citizen--it is simply accepted. As is the lack of mental health services.

Sadly this happens too often- being sent away. It is like roulette and I bet overworked staff. My niece worked in oncology as head nurse. She was depressed and suicidal. Under treatment but still put on a happy face until she committed suicide at home. What could have saved her when her medical staff couldn't get all the dots connected?

If you are lucky you have a psychiatrist with hospital privileges who might be able to get you in.If you are unlucky you just don't have much luck.It's a matter of who has some way in and most of the folks don't know how to get help.I can tell you how to get help.Write publicly about the problem.Go to media.Ask for help everywhere.And make sure that the politicians are getting the message.The only way to get help is to become an "emerging issue" for the government of Alberta.That is the only way folks.Sad but true.

If you have not got a family member with mental illness you will not understand the level of burnout experienced by familiesIt is an ongoing struggle. This family should not be blamed for leaving a family member at the emergency.

They are to be commended for sticking with the horror of our mental health system and helping their family member as much as they did.Do you know anything about the hell experienced by the mentally ill and their families?If you don't then don't talk to us about the system and how to access help that is not there.

I was approached by Alberta Child Services to provide a place for the daughter/granddaughter of my closest friend in a "crisis" situation for a "short period of time" that they couldn't determine. This young lady (14 years old) had to be removed from her home due to severe psychiatric/psychological issues that made her a danger to herself and others as well as animals. I declined to take her because of the threat she posed to my animals as well as myself. She clearly belonged in the hospital. My converstion with ACS was over an hour long with me telling them that the place for someone that was not only suicidal but was also highly dangerous to animals and people was in the hospital and not removed from a "safe" environment and put into mine because they felt that because she liked and trusted me therefore I could help her and that she would stabilize. It could not be guaranteed (by the worker) that this girl would not harm me, my animals or another person that lived in the residence which was a male. The young lady had a history of accusing males with sexual abuse and rape. I mentioned a male lived in the residence and could she guarantee that he would not become involved in a situation with police regarding false accusations from an obviously mentally ill person, nor could she guarantee that she wouldn't attempt or succeed in taking her own life. Social worker said no, she couldn't. ??? What the hell is that? It was the weekend and the social worker from ACS was in a hurry to get out of the office (they closed at 4 and it was already 5:30 when she called). Without a doubt she belonged in a hospital, under very close supervision. I also let her know that it was her responsibility to find the proper care in this crisis situation and not hand off the responsibility of her job to me or anyone else especially when we would be put in a potentially dangerous or legal situation. I was told by ACS that the guardians could take her for an assessment at the U of A Psychiatric Centre the following week and that all should be fine because she trusted me. As difficult as it was to turn my friends' daughter/granddaughter away...I had no choice. She was left with other people that were obviously unaware of the potential danger to them. (This information was not forthcoming from the social worker...I asked the right questions because I knew what was going on with her...and it was terrible).

The family took her to the U of A Psychiatric Centre the next Monday where she was assessed and categorized as a "critical emergency" and was booked in for attention at that level. The appointment for that was 2 weeks down the road. "Critical emergency", danger to herself and others and they're told to bring her back in 2 weeks!! Well they did that...and nothing was done for this girl. She ended up living on the street, finding a boyfriend whose family took her in, getting pregnant, and delivering a 1.5 baby approx. a year later. The baby remained in NICU for 3 months in order to get her up to a weight safe enough to go home which thankfully, the baby made it. Hospital staff were not sure the little one would survive as her organs were'nt fully developed, etc. Thankfully, the baby was apprehended in the hospital at birth and eventually placed in the care of her grandmother.

I'm sorry, I know the story is long...my points are:

1. This young lady's family did EVERYTHING they could to get her into hospital; a safe environment where she would receive the care she needed. They could not. They called CWS themselves in order to get help...CWS passed her off to someone else that were not told of her behaviors and imbalance and the subsequent danger of her being in their home.2. The U of A hospital did not do the right things, in my opinion, to ensure her safety or the safety of others even though she was assessed as "emergency critical". She never did get any hospitalized care but was referred to a "counsellor" if you can imagine.

This child was 14 years old. She was sick. No help whatsoever was given to her or her family. Both ACS and the hospital were highly negligent in following up and taking appropriate action in this situation. To this day, I believe that the young lady is living out on the street somewhere...still a threat to herself and others. This is not right for her, this is not right for the rest of society. Why is this kind of thing happening in Edmonton...in Alberta...or in Canada...we're a civilized society. It's absolutely heartbreaking. How many others are not being given the help they need?

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FOSSIL FUEL ENERGY NEWS

All our information was gathered after our family experienced immense and irrevocable impacts from intense non-conventional resource extraction projects around our home. Instead of operating and enjoying our organic farm to the best of our abilities, these past few years we have been trying to save it.

It was decided that instead of throwing all that time and energy to the wolves, we will endeavour to make the best of what has been some of the worst experiences we have had as a family.

The discrepancies of what one is told by oil and gas companies and what is actually occurring are vast, almost incomprehensible and the public must be educated on the real landscape of fossil fuel dependency. From the toxins used and produced to the falsified economic benefit, our predominant energy choices are harming us. This section of our site is here to present the truth on oil and gas operations, from the financials to the actual chemicals used in fracks, if they are ever to be disclosed, that is.

Only when each and every person is educated will we have the power to insist on change. Ignorance and apathy are the cornerstones of keeping this horrible industry in control of our communities, they also prey on our trust.

It has also always been a goal to transition our farm to renewable energy and will post our experiences with that process here. I actually promised Angle's construction supervisor our farm would be off-grid in the years to come. I will honor that promise to the best of my ability.

Dual incinerators burning sour gas, that operated non-compliantly, with visible flame, for 19 days south of our home.

Incineration, especially during well testing can result is less than 70% combustion efficiency, creating more than 150 hydrocarbon toxins. The noise generated from these tin telescopes is described by the AER as "sonic jet noise" yet the Directives state that a company cannot create more than 50 decibels of noise during the day and 4o at night. However, the AER has given industry a loop hole and now if a company tells you that operations will be excessively loud for the duration of drilling and completions they have no obligation to keep noise within these limits. The AER provides no scientific information for the public on the actual efficiency and subsequent health harm from exposure to incineration and flaring. This activity is potentially lethal and you have the right to request companies relocate you and your livestock for the duration of drilling and completions, especially during a sour gas operation. This event received a historical non-compliance as an audit revealed Angle did not submit a request via the AER DDS system for an extension of flare time, from 72 hours to 19 days. However, the AER refused to levy a high risk non-compliance for the operation of an incinerator with exposed flames.

If we are successful in our litigation against Angle Energy, now Bellatrix Exploration, any punitive damages we receive will be invested back into our community and towards programs that protect our natural resources, public health and help further education and development of renewable energy. If you have experienced adverse effects from oil and gas operations near your home and would like to submit a statement for our action email the: givingfarm@gmail.com

My apologies ahead of time, digging deep into what is happening regarding energy in Alberta and our entire planet is disheartening. I have nothing good to say about it, but hope that in saying it, something good will come of it. Please get involved in your own way. This should not be happening in our backyards, thousands, millions of times over.

5-15 sour crude oil site, used for 3 years as waste and pipe storage, no secondary containment, top-soil push backs not replaced, drainage directly into Rosebud River and with the potential to impact our water well, also 100m away from an abandoned Bonavista well. The 500 barrel tank in background is one of two that held sour crude oil and vented the sour gas that disassociates from the liquid to atmosphere. These emissions were not properly disclosed to us during notifications, evidenced by a high-risk non-compliance upon audit of the well. Decline rates of wells are steep within the first year, 60-70% in the Cardium. One tank was removed because of this decline, the other removed after the AER investigated the well sites near our home, the sites that were venting hydrocarbons were tied into the local pipeline.

Hydraulic fracturing uses a small amount of chemicals or additives. This is criminally not true. The chemicals used and produced by the drilling, fracturing, processing and consumption of tight/shale hydrocarbons is so large, it's hard to comprehend. Harder yet to understand is just how companies, synergy and regulators can advertise such mis-truth about the volumes involved here. They get away with it because very few people look into it and no-one can really see it's accumulations and harm. They shove it in the folds, caverns and underground rivers of deep Earth, with overt assurances it will never surface, or interact with highly fractured environments, that are under intense and continual pressure.

The world is a churning, spinning, tilting wonder of physics. This eternal cyclic force is simply represented by the molten core of Earth ever creating and consuming land. There are no static environments on Earth, the waste we make not only will harm, it has already harmed. It's not a small amount.

Times this by 6 (now 7) and make it all toxic hydrocarbon chemicals, this is our home and was not imaginary. This DOES NOT include drilling chemicals used, produced water from the formation, the methanol continually injected into the well bore or the waste gases and emissions from flaring, venting, acidizing, cementing, pigging, incineration, fugitive sources,(instrumentation, valves, thief hatches, etc) spills, loss of circulation and intense equipment and vehicular traffic.

Natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing chemicals with 10 or more health effects

When a tight oil boom invaded rural Alberta five years ago, Diana Daunheimer was, as she puts it, just another "ignorant landowner."

The mother of two and vegetable farmer knew little about the practice of horizontal drilling or multi-stage hydraulic fracturing.

The practice involves the injection of highly pressurized fluids into mile deep wells that later mole out horizontally for another mile or two, in order to break open shale rock as tight as granite.

To coax lower-quality oil out of the Cardium Formation as well as other pancakes of shale rock deep below west-central Alberta, industry increased its use of the practice around 2009 and created a black gold rush that has industrialized many rural communities with constant traffic and polluting flare stacks.

Daunheimer knew even less about the Alberta Energy Regulator, formerly the Energy Resources Conservation Board, which referees the industry in the province.

But as the number of horizontal fractured wells in the Cardium Formation jumped from 70 to 2,000 over four years, and oil production skyrocketed from 2,000 to 80,000 barrels a day, Daunheimer quickly became informed.

And with five fracked wells owned by Calgary-based Angle Energy, and another one by Bonavista, about half a kilometre from her home, she's formed some strong opinions on the mining process -- and become a royal pain in the butt for industry and regulators alike.

Daunheimer, who studied science in university, recently warned a Yukon legislative committee currently studying the benefits and risks of fracking in that territory to "courteously decline" the technology.*

"Wait and see the fallout from what's happening in the United States and what's going to happen south of you, folks, and then if you still feel it's an economically-wise decision, then look at it," she said on Feb. 13.

The 39-year-old is also suing Angle, now owned by Bellatrix, for $13 million. Filed three months ago, her claim alleges that the company did not exercise reasonable care while fracking its oil and gas wells near her home between 2008 and 2012.

It also alleges that Angle's drilling activity resulted in damaged property, dead livestock, a tumour on Daunheimer's daughter's neck and contaminated well water, along with two years of unrelenting stress.

A statement of defence filed by Angle in early February denies all of Daunheimer's claims.

Daunheimer is handling the lawsuit, which she calls "extremely frustrating and life-altering," on her own, because she says she likely knows more than most lawyers about the industry and couldn't afford to do it any other way.

"I call myself mommy bear," she says. "I protect my young, and I love where I live. I put my heart and soul into this house. I got married here. Why should I get pushed out of my home just because someone is doing stuff illegally? It's insane."

Industry routinely claims fracking is "safe and proven," and the Alberta Energy Regulator, likewise,assureslandowners that the practice is "responsible" and that "cumulative impacts are minimized."

But that's not what Daunheimer says she experienced around her home, which her family purchased in 2002. "We've had all the cumulative impacts any family can handle," she says.

In Alberta, several landowner groups, municipalities, the city of Lethbridge, water experts, and politicians have also raised concerns about the practice.

Number of horizontal well licenses granted in Alberta. Source: Alberta Energy.

Brian Mason, Alberta's New Democrat leader, recentlycharged that fracking is not only "out of control" but "is increasing on a dramatic scale without any understanding of what the potential consequences will be."

A sour new neighbour

For years Daunheimer, a former environmental coordinator for the city of Airdrie, raised organic vegetables for high-end Calgary restaurants on her acreage.

But in 2008 her life started to change, when Angle drilled and fracked two wells simultaneously 25 metres apart with highly-pressurized fluids some 400 metres from her farm, west of Didsbury in south-central Alberta.

It caused endless traffic, noise and diesel fumes, but the Daunheimers figured that was normal activity in a province dependent on hydrocarbon revenue.

The family sat up and took notice, Daunheimer says, when the company drilled and fracked a sour gas well south of the property in Aug. 2010.

After performing a propane fracture on the well, located 377 metres from their house, the company then burned off unwanted gas for 19 days.

The company flared off "all the non-profitable gas to get to the money-making oil," explains Daunheimer -- a common practice in the oil patch and now recognized as wasteful and a potentialrisk to public safety in North Dakota.

Two incinerators that sounded like jet engines roared day and night. The smoky pollution terrified her chickens and goats and gave the family headaches, spells of dizziness and chronic respiratory infections, she says.

People in the industry (Daunheimer's husband, Derek, is a rig manager in the oil patch) told the family that they should have been evacuated during the event.

Three weeks afterwards, the family's goats aborted 50 per cent of their offspring, while Daunheimer's 10-year-old daughter developed a tumour on her neck.

It took Daunheimer a while to take action. Only after using freedom of information laws to access drilling and other records last year did she realize the potential danger and scale of chemical exposures posed by the nearby wells.

As a consequence, the family will be seeing an Edmonton toxicologist next month. "The look you get from doctors when you try to explain your concerns regarding industry activity affecting your family's health is one of pure disregard and disbelief," says Daunheimer.

Sour gas, a cyanide-like poison toxic to humans and animals at low concentrations, sinks and collects in low areas, and the Daunheimer's house is located in a depression. The family says they could smell sour gas for years.

Sour gas site about 400 metres south of the Daunheimer property. Photo: Diana Daunheimer.

The company swore the fumes didn't originate from their operation.

Daunheimer later discovered that the well was licensed to vent waste gases, but that no one notified the family. An email from an Angle employee informed her of that fact. Regulatory records also revealed that compressor stations at two wells each released 15,000 cubic metres of waste gas every month.

Jacked up flaring

At that point Daunheimer began studying industry regulations, as well as the combustion efficiency and contents of flares.

She found studies by the Alberta Research Council that showed flares often burned with 62 per cent efficiency more than a decade ago, meaning landowners downwind often breathed as many as 150 highly toxic hydrocarbons.

Based on general emission reports filed with the regulator, as well as material safety and data sheets on fracking fluids, "We know now that we've been exposed to raw benzene," says Daunheimer.

More and more Albertans are being exposed to the same kind of materials that have contaminated airsheds wherever tight oil booms and fracking have exploded, such as Texas and North Dakota.

Due to a dramatic increase in fluid injection down horizontal wells driven by fiscal and royalty incentives, the amount of waste gas being vented or flared from oil wells has mushroomed in the province since 2006, as it did in North Dakota.

In its 2013 flaring report, the Alberta Energy Regulator directly attributes a 25.9 per cent increase from 2011 to 2012 in the disposal of flared waste gas into the air "to an increase in new crude oil production and low gas prices, which makes the economic viability of conservation more challenging."

The regulator blamed the increase in flared gas to "the number of horizontal multistage fracturing operations in 2012. It takes longer to recover load fluids and clean out wells in these operations, which results in greater flare volumes and flaring duration."

Daunheimer also encountered large sump pits, or dugouts designed to store drilling waste, at a newly fracked wellsite northeast of her property in July 2012. (Another wellsite south of her home sported stacks of pipes leaking oil.)

She suspected the sump pits were illegal because they could leach water contaminated with hydrocarbons into groundwater or the nearby Rosebud River.

Alberta Environment, one of two provincial agencies responsible for groundwater protection, expressed concern, but said it couldn't do anything, Daunheimer says.

Concerned about the safety of her own well water (chemical tests revealed problems), she then complained to the Alberta Energy Regulator.

One of its inspectors eventually checked out the unlined and unfenced pits. His report noted that the pits smelled "heavily of hydrocarbon-based drilling fluids." As a consequence, the regulator issued "a high-risk compliance order" against Angle to clean up the mess.

Daunheimer filed a freedom of information request to the government in order to get a copy of the enforcement order, which shut down the company for a day in 2012 while it removed the oily waste from one pit. It took the company another year to fully clean up the site.

Meanwhile, another branch of the Alberta government botched a drinking water well test that Daunheimer requested after a routine chemical sampling showed evidence of hydrocarbon contamination.

The government initially reported that its test "did not show anything of concern" last December, but after Daunheimer raised concerns about the quality of the testing, it later admitted in an email that "there were so many mistakes made by the lab in the first testing event" that they would have to resample the well.

There were also noise concerns. In Alberta, the oil and gas industry must keep its equipment at 50 decibels during the day and 40 decibels at night.

But a compressor station roared away in violation of regulations for two-and-a-half years, Daunheimer says, adding after she pointed out the violation to the regulator, the company quietly removed it.

By 2012, the company refused to talk to the family, while the regulator expressed frustration at Daunheimer's scores of emails and phone calls, she says.

Lost down the well

Although industry and government typically advertise fracking fluids as water-based and as harmless as guar gum in ice cream, Daunheimer found the opposite.

One well near her home, based on information she found on the industry website FracFocus, was primarily fracked with diesel fuel, light aromatic solvent naptha, and kerosene.

FracFocus, a voluntary registry set up by industry, lists the contents of hazardous fluids injected during fracking operations in North America, often three months after the fact. A Harvard legalstudy concluded in 2013 that the industry registry "prevents states from enforcing timely disclosure requirements, creates obstacles for compliance for reporting companies, and allows inconsistent trade secret assertions."

Other wells by Daunheimer's home were blasted with frac oil, synthetic frac oil or diesel invert (drilling fluid). Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on frac oil warn that the product is "highly flammable" and "contains benzene, a proven human carcinogen."

Diesel fuel also contains benzene, toluene and xylene. All can contaminate groundwater and cause cancer, kidney damage, liver damage, or harm to the brain if ingested by humans.

After checking well reports, Daunheimer raised particular concerns about the loss of 362,000 litres of diesel invert down one well near her home.

Industry refers to the disappearance of drilling fluids down the wellbore as "lost circulation."

At first the regulator explained to Daunheimer that industry never lost drilling fluid and that the hazardous substances couldn't migrate anywhere, she says.

But industry data she later foundindicated that every well in Western Canada loses between three and five cubic metres of drilling fluid per 100 metres drilled.

Daunheimer also raised questions about 20,050 litres of frac oil that disappeared down a well. After the regulator again told her not to worry, she checked industry data.

During fracking operations, industry only recovers about 20 per cent of the frack fluid sent down the well. Frack breakouts or hits that spill fluid and water into nearby wells have happened scores of times in British Columbia and Alberta.

The issue has been particularly intense for drilling and fracking tight oil formations along the Rockies in Alberta.

One servicing company recentlyexplained that fracking in these fields without a good reading of reservoir behaviour often runs "the risk of intersecting and/or reactivating geological structures such as faults during hydraulic fracture stimulation."

In addition, "faults may serve as conduits for large volumes of fluid, acting as a thief zone and re-directing fluid and proppant [sand] away from the treatment zone and wasting valuable time and money. In naturally fractured formations, an additional risk of diverting frac fluid into faults is the risk of generating induced seismicity of large enough magnitude to be felt on the surface."

According to Daunheimer, the regulator later assured her that the loss of the drilling fluid couldn't be classed as a spill or toxic release. Its employees reasoned that "the chemical was lost most likely in a hydrocarbon bearing formation so that would not constitute a known loss to the environment," says Daunheimer.

A 2012 study by U.S. hydrologist Tom Myers estimated that man-made fractures combined with natural faults in heavily drilled fields might well speed up the rate of fluid migration from drilling or fracking such that "contaminants could reach the surface areas in tens of years, or less."

'I'd say it's got to stop'

Daunheimer also raised questions about methane leaks at the wellsites, or what industry calls surface casing vent flow. That's when methane bubbles out of the wellbore into groundwater, soil or the atmosphere.

It's an issue that particularly plagues wells that have been subjected to the wear and tear of hydraulic fracturing. According to Alberta studies, nearly one-third to 70 per cent of all deviated or horizontal wells leak.

The methane leaks are also expensive to fix. One 2010 Alberta industry paper ruefully noted: "The repair of these situations is a non-revenue generating exercise with the potential to reach significant expenditures."

An inspection by a summer student found one leak on an Angle well near Daunheimer's home in 2010. Daunheimer checked Alberta's regulations and found that the company hadn't reported or fixed the leak for three years. The energy regulator later confirmed her analysis, but did little else, she says.

"As I mentioned previously you are correct that Angle Energy did not report the surface casing vent flow at the 14-15-031-02W5 well to the AER in the proper manner," emailed Tyler Callicott, a manager of enforcement and surveillance in the Red Deer office of the Alberta Energy Regulator, earlier this year.

After Calgary-based Bellatrix bought out Angle for a half a billion dollars last year, it assumed all of Angle's liabilities.

The regulator did not reprimand Bellatrix because Callicott "did not find sufficient evidence that they were aware of the vent flow."

Explained Callicott: "I did find evidence that Angle Energy was aware of the vent flow and failed to report it, as Angle Energy is no longer the licensee of this well and no longer an active licensee I will not be issuing a non-compliance to them."

Daunheimer now regards the regulator's claim that they protect landowners and the environment as a joke. "I have come to see the [regulator] as nothing short of a bodyguard to the industry," she says. After Daunheimer filed her lawsuit against Angle last December, the regulator told her that it was done with her and was closing her file, she says.

On Feb. 10, Daunheimer alerted the board that three wellsites near her home had flared beyond their legal 72-hour period. She wondered "if the companies had properly requested extensions to flare further."

The next day she received a reply from Jen Lutz, director, community relations, Alberta Stakeholder Engagement Branch of the Alberta Energy Regulator.

It read: "On Dec. 19 we discussed Angle's facilities near your location. The files have been closed and we are not going to review further historical operational performance concerns. These files have been thoroughly reviewed and enforcement actions were issued."

Carrie Rosa, senior advisor for the Alberta Energy Regulator's public affairs, explained that "Any non-compliances that were identified at the time, were dealt with and the follow up was completed. Any new complaints regarding current operational issues continue to be accepted."

Furthermore, "The [regulator] was not able to verify or confirm Ms. Daunheimer's assertions regarding flaring contraventions and therefore could not take action."

But Daunheimer hasn't closed her file on the impacts of horizontal hydraulic fracturing.

"I'd say it's got to stop," says Daunheimer. "The volumes of benzene and other highly toxic substances that have been used, burnt, spilled and injected into the land, air and water about us is staggering and frightening."

Meanwhile, Daunheimer is preparing to take her case to court. "I'm taking this to the next highest level possible."

Angle denies all of Daunheimer's claims. In its statement of defence filed in early February, the company writes: "None of these instances of non-compliance resulted in the escape of toxic chemicals, drilling waste, flare gases, or other noxious substances onto the Daunheimer Property."

The company "denies that its oil and gas operations contributed to or caused the injuries and damages alleged in [Daunheimer's] Statement of Claim."

It adds that "allegations in the Statement of Claim that are critical of the [Alberta Energy Regulator], its investigator, its directives, and [allegations] that the AER is funded and controlled by the oil and gas industry... are false."

The regulator is funded 100 per cent by the oil and gas industry and is directed by Gerard Protti, a former lobbyist and founder of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Last December Bellatrix offered Daunheimer $50,000 to drill a new water well and plant some trees if she would withdraw her lawsuit. But the determined mother declined the offer.

"Are you kidding?" she says. "I'm so not done yet."

*Correction, Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Diana Daunheimer has a university science degree.

Cynthia Jonasson wrote this incredible and terribly upsetting book about her mother's mistreatment in a local long-term seniors' care facility. The book receives a launch and discussion event this weekend.

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On My Mother's Behalfby Cynthia Jonasson157 pages$14.25Can be purchased in store at Chapters or online through Amazon.ca or PageMaster.

It’s a tragic story that simply had to be told. Cynthia Jonasson’s mother, Grace Denyer, passed away four years ago. She was a resident of a local long-term seniors care facility and was mistreated time and time again by staff and managers alike.

Mistreatment is an understatement.

The story made the headlines, but media coverage doesn’t fix what happened. It can only work to prevent the problem from happening again.

That’s why Jonasson (along with her sister Beth Podgurny acting as editor) decided that the story was too important to fade into the background. After all, it’s not the only story that has come out of people’s experiences within ‘the System.’ On My Mother’s Behalf is their new book, recently published and set to receive a book launch and discussion event this Saturday.

For all intents and purposes, it’s one of the most difficult stories that I have ever had to read. It’s also one of the best written: astute, precise, and brutally honest. The only thing that allays the anger that arises from hearing what happened to this woman and her family is the pleasure of reading a piece of non-fiction so professionally produced despite being from a novice author.

Some stories are that important. Jonasson said that it all started as a simple journalling as a way of recording the traumatic events instead of having them always in her head.

“The process of writing started as a cathartic exercise for me,” she began. “Beth took my writings, edited and organized them, and insisted that the story be shared. The decision to publish was tough. At times, I wanted to put my writing on the shelf. However, Beth encouraged me to share the story. In my heart, I knew she was right.”

Sharing the story is one thing but On My Mother’s Behalf is very careful to not name either the facility or the people in the health-care system who were involved. One could simply search through websites of organizations such as the Elder Advocates of Alberta Society to get an education on this and many other cases.

This book very carefully details not only Grace’s physical and psychological mistreatment but also the legal and political fallout that included legislative debate and Jonasson nearly being thrown in jail for her continued calling out of such systemic abuses.

While Grace’s story is now all a matter of record in the newspaper articles and the government reports, it was far more compelling for Jonasson to be non-specific because of how far-reaching the mistreatment goes. Grace, the author says, wasn’t alone.

“Ours is not a unique story. Many seniors and families have had and continue to have similar experiences in many different facilities. To focus on one facility would diminish the pervasiveness of these issues.”

The issues revolve around the lack of basic care and extend into outright abuse. Several times while reading the book, I found myself unable to tolerate even the thought of a person having to suffer as Grace did. I have no personal connection with anyone currently in such a facility but I was outraged. Such is the power of this story.

At the very beginning, Jonasson suggests that people wouldn't believe that it was an accurate retelling of actual events. She later clarified that she wrote this because she couldn’t believe it herself.

“I was experiencing my mother being neglected and abused right before my very eyes and couldn’t do anything about it or stop it. I hope to give a voice to those who are unable to speak for themselves. To bring about awareness. Most people are unaware of what many seniors and their families experience in ‘the System’ until they encounter it themselves.”

“I hope that if I require the same level of care, by that time, ‘the System’ will have improved and no one will be experiencing what many are experiencing today.”

The book has already had two book launch events including one at the Chapters store here in St. Albert. Jonasson and Podgurny indicated that people continue to approach them to tell them their own stories from past and ongoing experiences “often in tears.” They have received thanks even from people working inside these facilities, some of whom she suggested were too afraid to speak out on their own. She encourages readers to be aware of agencies such as Public Interest Alberta and Persons for Protection in Care to get help.

The event takes place on Saturday, June 25 from noon to 4 p.m. Audreys Bookstore is located at Jasper Ave. in Edmonton. Visit www.onmymothersbehalf.ca for more information.

On My Mother's Behalf A Daughter's Story

Public Interest Alberta

February, 2012

Media Statement

March 14, 2012

Release Date June 6th, 2016!

Julie Ali The Podgurny sisters are amazing and everyone should read their book. The unacceptable suffering of their mother is an indictment of the callous disregard of all governments -PC and NDP to the plight of our most vulnerable at risk seniors in continuing care. For those seniors and handicapped citizens who have family to advocate for them -there is always the risk of retribution; this risk has not been remedied by the weak response of Sarah Hoffman. Why has there been no effort by Sarah Hoffman and the NDP caucus to amend the Trespass to Premises legislation that allows any continuing care provider or hospital facility to ban and restrict families from contact with their loved ones? Instead of amending this unfair piece of Tory developed legislation we have a weak internal to AHS appeal policy that has no ability to correct injustices of any sort. Such an appeal policy is for show and not for correction. A just society model requires true remedy. When will Sarah Hoffman and the NDP folks do the job we have hired them to do? Or will they be fired and we will have to hire new people to government to do the will of the people of Alberta. Stand up for your families folks. Do what the Podgurny sisters courageously did--speak out, write about the hell family members go through and the failures of the government of Alberta to do anything about these abuses in continuing care.----------------On My Mother's Behalf A Daughter's Story------------------------Follow the story behind the headlines: blackmail; top political leaders ‘washing their hands’ of the situation, while other leaders wanting a front row seat; politicians debating her private care eviction in the legislature; nearly being thrown in jail; lawyers holding back disclosure; witnessing their mother's neglect and abuse by those entrusted to her care; and government watchdogs unwilling to fulfil their mandate.

How is one reborn after a fall? by Muriel Barbery

14. From Passageway to Pathway

What is this war we are waging, when defeat is so certain? Day after day, already wearied by the constant onslaught, we face our terror of the everyday, the endless passageway that, in the end--because we have spent so much time walking to and fro between its walls---will become a destiny. Yes, my angel, that is our everyday existence:dreary, empty, and mired deep in troubles. The pathways of hell are hardy foreign; we shall end up there one day if we tarry too long. From passageway to pathway; it is an easy fall, without shock or surprises. Every day we are reacquainted with the sadness of the passageway and step by step we clear the path towards our mournful doom.Did he see the pathways? How is one reborn after a fall? What new pupils restore sight to scorched eyes? Where does war begin, where does combat end?